The owners of the Nelson-Boylan-LeRette Funeral Chapel in Red Oak are determined to continue serving the area as they recover from a devastating fire that destroyed their building on the morning of September first.

State and local fire investigators said faulty wiring in the basement caused the fire that gutted the building’s interior.  The building was deemed a total loss.

Dawn LeRette, who along with her husband, Brian, have owned the funeral home since 2001, say they are currently operating out of another building on their property.

Dawn says the LeRette family plans to continue to build on the more than 100 years of traditions since the business was first established in 1914.  They want to let people in the Montgomery County and surrounding area know that they are ready and able to provide funeral care at this time as they move forward.

Red Oak Police report that on Tuesday, September 5th just after 7:00 pm, officers arrested 40 year old Joseph Aaron Nelson of Red Oak on an active Montgomery County warrant for harrassment in the third degree.  Nelson was booked and held on $300 bond.

A new Iowa State University podcast tries to answer some of the questions about a subject that is vital to some, and stinks for others. Dan Andersen
the creator of the “Talk’in Crap” podcast, says it is an interesting time in the world of manure.

Anderson is an associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at I-S-U. He chose the “Talk’in Crap” title intentionally and says you have to have a sense of humor about the subject, while also talking about the serious side.

Andersen says manure is more than a byproduct of animal production.

Andersen says the water quality perspective is also important and manure’s role in that needs to be discussed as well.

Anderson says the use of new technology has help improved the use of the world’s oldest fertilizer.

He says they don’t want to see any spills that impact water quality, but there are still spills and fish killed every year from manure. Andersen says at least there are signs of progress in the right direction. The smell of manure is probably the thing that most non-farmers. Andersen says work continues to find ways to deal with that too.

Andersen says those covers often don’t fit with the deep pit production model that we tend to have fore manure here in Iowa. You can listen to the “Talk’in Crap” podcast on the Iowa State University Extension website at www.extension.iastate.edu.

A University of Iowa medical school graduate who’s now a national spokesman for the American Lung Association is urging Iowans to get an array of vaccinations this fall to protect themselves from the flu, R-S-V, and a resurgence of COVID-19. Pulmonologist Dr. Jamie Rutland says flu cases spiked in Iowa last year, compared to previous pandemic years, as most people were no longer masking or keeping six feet away from others. How severe will the flu season ahead be?

Flu vaccines are already available in Iowa, so he’s hoping people will get their shots now so their immune systems are ready. That goes double for people who are compromised by things like heart disease, lung disease or diabetes.

Rutland, who practices in his native southern California, says R-S-V is another big concern, especially as flu season approaches, and two R-S-V vaccines are now available, primarily for people 60 and over.

He says it’s especially important for people who are at least 60 years old to get vaccinated for R-S-V. The C-D-C says COVID cases are rising again nationwide and Rutland says for most people, a COVID booster is highly recommended this fall.

The C-D-C estimates there were as many as 54-million flu cases nationwide last year and between 19- and 58-thousand deaths due to the flu. Iowa health officials report 366 flu deaths statewide in 2021.

An executive with Summit Carbon Solutions says the proposed pipeline route the company has presented to state regulators is final — unless the Iowa Utilities Board orders more negotiations as a condition of granting a construction permit. James Powell, Summit’s chief operating officer, is in charge of design, construction and operation of the pipeline.

Powell says it’s too late to adjust the route through Charles City, for example.

Summit has changed the pipeline route around Bismarck in its new permit application after
North Dakota regulators rejected the company’s initial application.

Powell testified Tuesday during a hearing the Iowa Utilities Board convened in August to examine Summit’s pipeline permit application. Testimony in the past two weeks came from landowners who don’t want the pipeline on their property, some of whom suggested adjusting the route to provide access to farm fields or to keep their land enrolled in federal conservative programs.

A state health report shows Iowa’s syphilis rate continues to climb, with 877 cases of that sexually-transmitted infection last year. It marks the fourth straight year cases have risen, mirroring a national trend. State Medical Director Robert Kruse says the reason for the increase is unclear, but he says syphilis usually begins with a painless blister that goes away on its own, so it can be harder to detect in earlier stages.

Iowa’s rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea dropped last year. Kruse says doctors have seen syphilis cases increase for women, which led to a rise in congenital syphilis — where a woman passes the illness to her child during pregnancy. He says doctors should consider additional screenings for their pregnant patients who are at risk.

Kruse says it’s important that Iowans recognize signs and symptoms of S-T-Is and go in for testing if they think they may have been exposed.

A nine-year-old cat that lived his entire life at a northwest Iowa animal shelter has been adopted by a family from Missouri. Barney was adopted after becoming a social media sensation last month. Emmet County Animal Shelter Director Kristy Henning says Barney was featured in the shelter’s “Sunday Spotlight” on Facebook.

The post drew attention nationwide and in Canada and 15 applications were filled out to adopt Barney the cat. The shelter selected a family from Lee’s Summit, Missouri as Barney’s forever home.

The Sherer family is keeping the shelter — and the internet — updated on Barney’s progress.

Barney’s mother was pregnant when she was taken in at the Emmet County Shelter, so he had spent every day of his life at the facility until he was
adopted. Henning says there’s no carpeting at the shelter and Barney’s new family says he loves rolling around on the carpet at his new home in Missouri.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Utilities Board hearing for the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline has entered its third week. Summit’s chief operating officer is on the witness stand. James Powell is in charge of design, construction and operation of the pipeline. He says Summit’s project is about ensuring ethanol plants that connect to the pipeline make a profit.

Brian Jordy, a lawyer for pipeline opponents, suggested the Utilities Board is being asked to pick pipeline investors as winners and property owners who don’t want the pipeline on their land will be the losers. Powell responded.

Powell says the company has rerouted its proposed pipeline 15-hundred times in Iowa.

Under questioning, Powell said he does not know the slate of investors in Summit Carbon Solutions. However, Powell did tell attorney Brian Jordy the pipeline company is a spin off of Summit Ag Group, which is owned by Bruce Rastetter, an entrepreneur who’s made investments in the pork and biofuels industries.

Summit Carbon Solutions is seeking eminent domain authority so unwilling landowners would be forced to grant the company permanent access to more than 900 parcels, or sections of property. Landowners opposed to the project testified during the first two weeks of the Utilities Board hearing, which is being held in Fort Dodge.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Three people were arrested on separate charges over the past few days, in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office reports 33-year-old Bowen Thomas Murley, of Waverly, and 26-year-old James Anthony Briggs, of Anaconda, MT, were arrested Sunday. Murley was arrested at around 12-:06-a.m. on 188th Street, and charged with OWI/1st offense (Bond: $1,000); Briggs was arrested on 188th Street in Mills County at around 11:42-p.m. Sunday. He was charged wit Possession of CO trolled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Serious injury by Vehicle (Bond: $5,000)

At around 2:14-a.m. Monday (Sept. 4), Mills County Deputies arrested 51-year-old Glen Eugene Gallagher, of Omaha, NE, following a traffic stop on Highway 34. He was charged with Possession of Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Bond: $5,000)

(Radio Iowa) – The National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa closed its doors for the final time Monday after more than 30 years in eastern Iowa. The museum, which operated as a nonprofit, closed after financial struggles that were worsened by the pandemic. The museum was packed Monday with some visitors who drove, or even flew hundreds of miles to see the collection of Americana before it was too late. Other like Robert Waalkens, of Marion had a short ride, and told K-C-R-G T-V it was the first time he ever visited.

“I’ve ridden by this ton of times and just always assumed like, yeah, I’ll be able to stop out and see it anytime I want to,” Waalkens says. The chair of the board of directors for the museum, Jill Parham, says close to one-thousand people visited Monday before they closed. Parham had been keeping the museum going after the death of her husband, John Parham, in 2017. “I am splitting up my husband’s collection,” she said. “I’m going to have a new chapter in my life that I don’t know how to handle, but I’m looking forward to it.”

National-Motorcyle-Museum-(KCRG-TV)

Parham has spent the last several years grappling with the museum’s financial struggles, so she’s ready. However, for those new to the museum, like Waalkens, he told K-C-R-G T-V it feels like they’re losing something before they ever really got to know it.“I’m surprised it’s actually going anywhere that- I kind of figured it would stick around for a long time,” Waalkens said.

The items in the museum will be auctioned off, with the bidding beginning on Thursday.